A tariff avalanche catches Switzerland unawares
The soaring rate is based on exports of Trump’s favourite metal
THE FIREWORKS celebrating the Rütlischwur, Switzerland’s foundational oath on August 1st 1291, had just subsided when Donald Trump announced that Swiss exports to America would soon face tariffs of 39%. It was a shock to Europe’s most stubbornly independent country. Karin Keller-Sutter, the president, flew to Washington on August 5th. As The Economist went to press, she seemed to have come back empty-handed.
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